Veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh will lead a star-studded North Zone side for the Syed Mushtaq Ali inter-zonal T20 cricket tournament, slated to start in Mumbai from February 12.
The 15-member squad comprises of other senior India players such as Gautam Gambhir, Shikhar Dhawan, Yuvraj Singh and Ashish Nehra.
Among the youngsters are Mandeep Singh, Rishabh Pant, Yuzvendra Chahal and Parvez Rasool. Former India Under-19 skipper Unmukt Chand will join the team after two matches.
The selectors from North Zone Associations — Ashender Kaul (JKCA), Rajesh Bawa (HCA), Ashok Thakur (HPCA), Wg. Cdr Deepak Ahluwalia (SSCB), Sarandeep Singh, who was a special invitee and Siddharth Sahib Singh, the convenor — attended the meeting here under chairman Nikhil Chopra.
North Zone will take on South Zone in their first match on February 12 at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
North Zone squad: Harbhajan Singh (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Mandeep Singh, Rishabh Pant (wk), Unmukt Chand, A.R. Pachera, Rishi Dhawan, Mayank Dagar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Parvez Rasool, Umar Nazir, Pradeep Sangwan, Mohit Sharma, Ashish Nehra.
Standbys: Shivam Chauhan, Shubham Khajuria, Manpreet Gony, Manzoor Dar, Manan Sharma, Milind Kumar.